Drive Safe Somebody Loves You!

Sunday morning, July 28, 2024, our precious family's world was shattered in the most heartbreaking of ways.

Elana (20 yrs old) was an innocent passenger in a heart-wrenching single-vehicle car crash in our cherished Vermont mountains. The driver behind the wheel, Sean Delaney, was traveling at 110 to 120mph while intoxicated on alcohol and drugs. The car she was in left the road and crashed head first into a wall of granite. She never stood a chance. She would never walk through our front door again. 

In her last hours, Elana was not kept safe or protected as her family had done countless times driving through the Vermont mountains. It is an unbearable pain knowing Elana would not be able to protect herself in a place that was so special to our family and we would never get the chance to prevent this from happening to her. She had her whole life ahead of her- so much love to give, dreams to chase and light to share. Gone in an instant. An act committed against her and our family that was entirely preventable. 

Elana's mother and father lost their only daughter. Elana's brothers lost their only sister. Elana and her little brother are 15 months apart and she was his best friend. Calling her older brother, who had just moved from college across the country, on that very same day ,to begin his new chapter of life was a call no parent should ever have to make, it was in every way as painful and horrific that you could imagine. The plans and future we had as a family forever shattered. 

Ollie’s Angels Foundation Inc. was born in the aftermath as a way to honor Elana, to tell our story, HER story, to spread awareness of the real consequences of preventable loss of life by impaired and reckless driving. To educate others about the real life impact, with the hopes of preventing any more lives being lost and families devastated by such senseless acts of impaired and reckless driving.

We carry the weight of her absence every single second of every single day, our lives forever altered with no going back yet, we are committed to honoring her beautiful legacy, while in the depths of our overwhelming grief. Elana was both a proud little sister and big sister. She attended the University of Arkansas & was an active sister in Alpha Omicron Pi (AOII). Her brothers have been and will continue to be our anchors in the stormy seas our family must now endure for a lifetime with her profound loss. Even in our heartbreak, we knew we must honor her too-short life by continuing her legacy of unconditional love, joy, and kindness she shared so effortlessly with others. Elana's vibrant spirit, kind heart, and infectious laughter touched everyone she met. We will strive everyday to do the same in her honor. The devastation of Elana's loss will empower Ollie's Angels to do good in this world and to inspire others to see the bigger picture when it matters most. 

#LoveLikeElana #OlliesAngelsFoundation #CatchaSafeRide